cold | junhao

三十三

By the time Minghao and Jun make it back to the harbour, the sun is close to setting beyond the horizon and the sky is painted and bold strokes of pinks and oranges.

"You sure you're okay?" Minghao asks him, tugging back on his hand as Jun goes to separate them. The light from the burning sun casts a warm glow over them, making Jun's eyes sparkle more than they normally do—and that's saying something.

Jun smiles and nods. "I'm sure."

They share a small kiss before parting, where Jun walks towards the Main Street to the centre of town while Minghao carries on along the boardwalk, away from the cliff.

When Jun reaches his apartment, he heaves a sigh and collapses onto the sofa in exhaustion, closing his eyes as if he could fall asleep right there. A buzz halts him though, and he sits up again, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. At first he thinks of Minghao, and is about to press the call button without a second thought. But, his finger pauses when he reads his manager's contact name.

manager park
we need to talk

Jun sighs, screwing his eyes shut for a second.

Wen Junhui
look, if this is about earlier I'm really sorry. I'll return the clothes tomorrow

manager park
It doesn't matter.
You broke your contract, Jun.

Jun's heart drops in his chest. He has to put down the cup he's holding, and draws his legs to his chest. At first he's confused, but after a few seconds a realisation settles in Jun's chest and dread fills him. After all, Park isn't lying. Still, he desperately hopes it's something else, something minor that can be sorted out easily.

Wen Junhui
Wait, what do you mean? What did I do?

manager park
You're not allowed to be in a relationship until you've worked for three years. I made this clear to you but still you've decided to go against it.

I'm sorry Junhui, but as of now you're no longer a part of this company.
You'll need to move out of your apartment within the next week unless you can buy it from us.

Fighting the urge to throw his phone across the room, Jun's head drops to his hands. He'd forgotten, after two years, that this apartment doesn't actually belong to him—the company pays for it—and he should've known they could rip it from him whenever they wanted.

Shit, he lets out a breath.

It's funny, how your entire life can feel like it's fallen apart within milliseconds.

Wen Junhui

I'll return the clothes tomorrow, then.

With that, he shuts his phone off completely, in case anyone else tries to contact him when he really doesn't want it. He stands up, and walks to the kitchen for some food to preoccupy his time and fill the little hole that was suddenly torn in his heart. A passion that he spent so long trying to find, and worked to revolve his life around, is gone.

He sinks to the floor, slice of leftover pizza in his hand, and tips his head back to stare around 'his' apartment. It feels so much colder and darker than it did when he got home, like all the happy memories are already starting to fade.

Something nuzzles against his hand, sniffing at the pizza with interest. Jun mindlessly strokes Teddy's soft fur, giving in to the dog's whines and letting him have a piece of pepperoni. The dog clambers onto Jun's lap and curls up into a ball, falling asleep almost instantly and letting out quiet snores every few seconds.

Jun stays in the same position for the better part of the next hour, and Teddy doesn't once stir. Eventually, Jun feels the crick in his neck and tingling running through his legs, so he bundles his dog up in his arms and stands up... but he doesn't know where to go next.

He knows he doesn't want to stay in this apartment for any longer, so with nothing else to do—despite it being past midnight by now—Jun leaves and walks the small distance across the corridor to Mingyu's door, where he lightly knocks and waits for an answer.

He knows for a fact Mingyu's home tonight, and he also knows his friend never goes to sleep before two a.m.

So, when the door creaks open and Mingyu pokes his head out with a frown upon his face and tousled hair, Jun gives him a pleading smile. Mingyu steps back, looking no less confused as he allows Jun inside. He lies Teddy down on the floor beside the electric fire, before collapsing onto the sofa and turning his head away from Mingyu.

After closing the door, Mingyu steps forward, watching Jun with concern all over his face. "Okay," he says slowly. "But if you're gonna barge in at half midnight and fall asleep on my sofa, you've gotta at least give me a reason."

Jun sighs, a long, drawn out sigh of exasperation. He shuffles to face the ceiling and crosses his arms over his chest.

"I got fired," he says bluntly. "Which means the apartment isn't mine anymore—even though it never really was anyway. I have to move out or buy it from the company, which I can't exactly afford."

Mingyu's shoulders drop, and he scratches his chin. "Shit," he breathes, and Jun returns a hum.

"Have you told Minghao yet?"

Jun shakes his head. "Don't," he whispers. "I don't want him to know."

After a few silent seconds, Mingyu nods. "Okay... so what are you gonna do?"

"I don't know." He faces his friend, "What should I do? It's gonna take longer than a week to find a new place."

Mingyu sits down beside him, pursing his lips. "We'll think of something," he decides. "I'm sure someone has a spare room you can crash in until you figure something out. But for now—" A blanket lands on Jun's face, "—it's time for sleep. We'll talk in the morning, yeah?"

Jun nods. "Thanks, Gyu. See you in the morning."

Mingyu offers him a smile, "Night."

---
a/n: bet y'all forgot jun has a dog cuz so did I :/ oops

thank you for the messages on the last chapter 🥺 you guys are so sweet
here's a virtual hug for everyone 🤗🤗

Edit: whoops i forgot to put the title in mandarin